Robin and Zoro in 30 Snippets
by Gentle Breezes
Summary: Thirty little drabbles about a lovely archeologist and a talented swordsman. Zoro/Robin. Not in chronological order, but it takes place in between the moment Robin came and when the Mugiwara Crew reunited after two years.


**Disclaimer: **Eichiro Oda owns One Piece in all its fantastic glory.

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_**I. Age**_

The age difference should have been the first hint toward the impossibility of a relationship.

But, considering the type of crew they were in, "impossible" really had no meaning.

_**II. Humble**_

Robin had practiced humility first as a matter of course, later as a matter of nature. She demanded no praise for her efforts. Actions speak for themselves, and she has learned that the clamor of words takes away from worthiness more often than not. But the fact that she got Zoro — a man who never took notice of women unless they posed a challenge — to like her, and eventually love her, was something she secretly congratulated herself on every day.

_**III. Knowing**_**_ It_ **

He may lack an internal compass, may seek challenge like it is all he lives for, and may train more than he bothers to speak, but he knows his own thoughts. The day he looks at her for longer than necessary and thinks that it's nice to see her smile is the day he gets a feeling he might just be screwed.

_**IV. Strange**__** Tradition **_

It started shortly before the gigantic Water Seven fiasco and continued a few weeks after. She sleeps light, so in the middle of the night she goes to the kitchen to drink tea, eat gingerbread and read until she grows tired. Zoro almost always keeps watch, and attacks the kitchen on occasion for sake. The coincidental meetings led to a tolerated companionship, and later to a comfortable shared existence.

They don't always have to speak. They merely sit and eat or drink, looking outside, each moment a reassurance that one or the other chooses not to leave.

_**V. Touch**_

Her touch had been a small and frightening thing before. He was good fighter, but she was a former assassin and has lived longer. Even a light brush against his shoulder by accident sent a tiny shiver down his spine because that soft touch, aimless and without purpose, hid something deadly.

Now when she places a hand on his arm, letting him know that Sanji's done making food, it sends shivers through his spine for entirely different reasons.

_**VI. Intuition**_

They aren't a couple of many words. He doesn't say a lot unless he exchanges hits with the aho-cook or is in the middle of battle. She rarely speaks unless giving some kind of information or explanation. But it's almost uncanny how they can tell one might need the other at any moment, whether it's for a reassuring glance, a comforting caress or a few meaningful words.

_**VII. Unimagined**_**, **_**Unexplored**_

There are parts of his memories and heart that remain largely unexplored by her. She knows that at some point in his life he'd lost a good friend, and that his journey to the present had involved hardship and pain, but how deeply that runs she can only guess. Likewise, there are parts of her heart he still doesn't know. The extent of the damage she had received upon the destruction of her home is too painful a thing to be left to imagination. But both are willing to wait for such things to come to light, just like everything else in they're lives.

_**VIII. Kiss**_

The words "kiss" and "Zoro" did not go well together in the same sentence, and the expressions that came after were synonymous with incredulity or horror. Zoro? Being able to _kiss_ someone? Unimaginable.

It had been for Robin too, but she came to realize that he was just as capable as any other man was of giving a kiss.

He wasn't too bad at it either.

_**IX. Scary**_

He doesn't have the friendliest face. Focus is often mistaken for displeased scowling, and on occasion he'll scare Chopper and Usopp without meaning to. Enemies he's faced and glared at sometimes freeze for the warning in his eyes.

Yet when she sees him, no matter how he's looking or feeling, she greets him with her quiet smile or a small peck on the cheek, and continues on with her day.

At first he reasons that she's either blind or humoring him. Later, the epiphany comes: she was never forced into this. Her "yes" to the situation meant she had walked into this with her eyes wide open, no matter how scary things were or might get.

She had guts.

He really liked that.

_**X. Cooking**_

Its night time and he's in the nest watching for Navy vessels. This time when he goes down to the kitchen to keep up with tradition, he sees Chopper there. The little doctor's cheerful greeting rises up, as does an odd, creeping annoyance in Zoro's veins.

Until he sees that Robin is at the stove, stirring away at something that smells spicy and utterly _fantastic_. She turns and says she'll be done in a moment, offering her usual smile as a small reward for being patient.

Chopper watches her in fascination. Zoro, though more discreet about it, joins in.

_**XI. Library**_

The Thousand Sunny's library isn't large but is by no means unimpressive. Stocked with rarities collected from Water Seven and from various ports later, it is Robin's favorite place aside from her lawn chair on deck, able to keep her occupied for a whole day if she so chooses.

Nami sends Zoro down to the library to tell her that lunch is ready, and he finds her asleep, chest rising and falling gently, the book in her hands threatening to slip with each breath. A smile tugs at his lips, though he refuses to let it grow any larger, and he silently makes his way out again.

When she wakes to the sound of Sanji shouting — something about Zoro not having brought her lunch — she stretches and notices a book not her hands, but on the desk near her. It's been bookmarked with care, not a page bent.

She smiles.

_**XII. Swords**_

Robin never touches his katanas.

Zoro trusts his nakama, so they can handle them in emergencies or when by some mad twist of battle he's lost one or two to the unknown. But she never joins in the vain requests of Luffy and Chopper to swing them around for play, never dreams of handling them in the way Nami had at the naval base, and asks him to move them out of the way should the need for cleaning or stowing away arise.

It's not that she can't handle them or isn't allowed to. She just _prefers_ not to. Robin knows those blades are his life, more precious than any gold treasure to him, and gives them her respect.

He still hasn't found the words to properly express how much her belief in this matters to him.

_**XIII. Sleep**_

At first he'd hated having people come near him when he slept, always asking questions or never staying still enough, or startling him so that he has to exercise restraint when his instincts tell him to grab a weapon. He'd told her about this once, and she'd acquiesced. But with time and experience, he grew accustomed to having her nearby when he slid into unconscious rest, the only noise from her the periodic turning of a book page or one or two yawns.

He can still fall asleep without her near him, but he finds he rests more peacefully when she's around.

_**XIV. Level Out**_

During the first few months spent on the Going Merry, she'd thought of him and the others as very young — almost children in her eyes. And she'd most certainly felt older than 28 years old. As time passed slowly, however, the difference began to level out until there was none at all.

That was the first time she could look at Zoro and see not a boy, but a man.

_**XV. Eyes**_

Her face is almost always complacent. Rain or shine, joyful or fearful situations, her expression hardly varies, which makes it difficult to tell what she's thinking. But Roronoa Zoro is nothing if not persistent. He studies her subtly for any hint of weakness that would make her emotions discernible. Finally, he discovers it: her eyes. It takes practice, but he becomes capable of seeing what everything she feels through her eyes.

And the way she gets surprised at how he can tell just makes her cuter.

_**XVI. Suit**_

He'd been struggling with this for an hour, minimum. They had to go to an island filled with rich people, wearing disguises to blend. He thought it was useless to put on a suit and a tie; the suit was damned uncomfortable and the crew stuck out like a sore thumb. But Luffy was Luffy, and so they were going, and so he was here, trying not to strangle himself in front of a mirror.

"A little help here?" he growled over the racket, watching the crew make last minute adjustments to their outfits. His cry unheeded, he was about to open his mouth again when out of the corner of his eye he saw Robin glide toward him. When he turned she merely stood before him, not saying a word, buttoning up the last part of his suit coat, adjusted his collar and tying the tie around his neck perfectly.

"Er...thank you."

"You're welcome," she said back with a calm smile.

...Suddenly, wearing a suit didn't seem so bad.

_**XVII. Sick**_

Zoro was sitting in the crow's nest, his foot taping the ground impatiently. The rest of the crew below him was going about their normal day as best they could, but he could tell they were anxious. It wasn't every day someone aboard fell ill, and Robin was the only one who'd never gotten sick until now. After Chopper's initial freak out and cry for a doctor he'd gotten to treating her, and she was resting in the medical bay. The illness was a mere fever, probably from staying outside too long on the winter island they'd just visited. Chopper had looked optimistic about the whole thing.

He scowled, opening his eyes from the nap he was trying to take. It would be easier if things like sicknesses manifested themselves into physical entities so that he could cut them up, instead of such things slipping right under his nose and attacking his nakama without his knowledge.

Finally he sat up and stormed out of the crow's nest to make for the deck. Even if he couldn't do anything about it, he'd at least be nearby.

_**XVIII. Be **__**a **__**Man**_

He'd been hesitant (much to his dismay) about telling her what he felt. The attraction was obviously there, and for too many reasons to count at that.

First he thought about it like taking out an enemy: the sooner he did something about it, the sooner it would go away. But after realizing it would probably never go away, he figured he might as well face the obstacle head-on and be a man.

_**XIX. Spoils**__** of **__**War**_

It's not like he'd been "competing", per say, with Sanji for Robin's affections; as far as he's concerned there was no contest to begin with. But with Zoro's realization of feelings for the archeologist, there also came the realization of just how close Sanji could get to Robin without being told off or smacked. And with this came the conclusion that something needed to be done. He'd vowed before never to lose a fight, and he'd kept his record pretty clean until now.

This was no exception. This was **war. **

When he finally gets to kiss Robin freely, Sanji's rage doesn't escape Zoro's sights. That was worth _at least_ a thousand devious grins.

_**XX. A**__** Walk**__** In **__**The **__**Clouds**_

If it hadn't been for the impending doom of an idiot who'd dared to call himself a god, trying to find the rest of the crew, and trying to find his way around the island, Zoro's sure he would have enjoyed his journey through Skypiea with the surprisingly capable Robin a lot more.

_**XXI. Unexpected**_

It was frustrating for a while, recalling how many things in his life had come at unexpected times and provided him with many troubles. He really hated it.

Robin is one unexpected thing he can never despise.

_**XXII. Laugh**_

It's a ridiculous mission and he knows it. He's suddenly become aware that she doesn't laugh out loud and is determined to see it happen. Try as he might, it just doesn't work.

It's only when he tells her what he's been trying to do that she actually laughs.

_**XXIII. I**__** Love **__**You**_

It feels and sounds absolutely strange, hearing him say those three words. Here he is, a man nine years younger than herself who only likes to sleep and train, and wears a permanent scowl, telling her "I love you". He hardly believes it himself, if his face is of any indication. Thinking back on how she used to be, Robin knew her younger self would've died of shock.

Lucky for her she's not so young anymore, and doesn't care one bit about her past reservations as she repeats the same words right back to him.

_**XXIV. Capable**_

He knows she's capable, even though her fighting style is a little slower than his. She knows he's capable too, even though he jumps into the most dangerous parts of the fray. But this doesn't stop either of them from discretely checking the other afterwards, regardless of what kind of battle it was.

_**XXV. Wrong**__** Message**_

"Robin? What does this mean?" Chopper asked, making a puckering motion as he stuck his hoof out under his lip, and then blew a short stream of air.

"That is called 'blowing a kiss'."

"Who do you send it to?"

"People you know, like your friends or those you love. Or it can be used as a joke."

"As a joke? You mean to tease someone? How?"

"Like this," she said, turning towards Zoro and blowing him a small kiss just as he opened his eyes. He shot straight up as Chopper rolled on the floor and Robin laughed more discreetly, shouting a threat or two that went unheard.

When he lay back down to sleep, his mind repeated the image of her over and over, rest evading him. He knew she hadn't meant it for real, but a tiny part of him wondered what it would be like if she had.

_**XXVI. Distraction**_

They both come to the decision that it is best he trains alone. She takes no offense because it isn't that he hates her being there.

It's because his eyes always wander to her instead of concentrating on sword katas.

_**XXVII. Do**__** The **__**Math**_

CP9. Two letters and one number equaled a very new and exasperating reality. If this had been after knowing her for a few weeks, it would've been an "out of sight, out of mind" deal for him, and a begrudged but loyal accompaniment with his crew to help. But it couldn't work that way anymore. Not after all that has happened.

He'd never been a math person, so he didn't think about what else CP9 would equal in terms of strength or numbers. He only thought of one solution and one outcome: getting that archeologist back and taking her as far away from the here as possible.

_**XXVIII. 3 **__**Days**_**. **_**No**_**, **_**2 **__**Years**_

During those years they barely had time to think. She was part of revolutionaries, and he was training under Mihawk. But every time night fell and things quieted, they thought of the crew they had yet to see, and of each other.

It was at those times that two years suddenly seemed to stretch on forever.

_**XXIX. One **__**Eye**_

His other eye has been damaged because of his training with Mihawk, and the crew is very quick to point it out. Chopper and Usopp think it's cool. Sanji calls him a moron. Nami states he's careless. Brook tells him he has the same problem, but ah, he's a skeleton so it makes sense _yohohohoho_! Franky's just glad he's alive. Luffy's too happy about seeing everyone again to notice.

And Robin? She puts a hand to his face, running her thumb down the scar over his eye. A small smile emerges and she shakes her head slightly, her hand unmoved. He doesn't move either, but finds a grin to match her smile coming over his face.

_**XXX. Trust**_

He's accomplished his dream, and she has accomplished hers. They're resting on an island nearby, ready to continue the journey with everyone else when ready.

He suddenly gets up, casting a shadow over where she had been basking the in sunlight. "Here," he says, gently holding Wado. "I know you've always been curious."

Uncharacteristic hesitation stayed her hand before she stood up and reached for the katana, drawing it out of its sheath with care. She stared at the blade, admiring the gleam of the blade in the sunlight. She could feel the weight of their adventures and his experiences in it, dangerous and beautiful and oh so precious. In silence she looked back up to search for anxiety in his face. Instead, she only finds complacency, and a flickering shade of fondness in his eye.

His heart was in her hands. She wasn't dropping it. Ever.

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**A/N: **So, I have reached that point in time where I look at my fics and ask myself what the heck I was thinking, and I am thus on a gigantic editing spree. Most of this is intact, whereas some other parts are almost completely redone. It's been a while since I've journeyed into the One Piece comics or fandom, so bear with me.

The prompts **"Strange Tradition" **and **"Suit" **actually have elongated versions, which I released even before I first posted this. I once aspired to elongate all the other ones, but most of these are too drabbly to create something substantial, or would require a much longer fic than I have the energy to write. Alas for my ruined plans!

I hope you enjoyed these! They are a tad silly and a little out of character, plus I wrote these like three or four years ago. But I had fun making them before, and I've had fun coming back to edit them. Any feedback and laughter is welcome.

Thank you for reading!


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